Samantha Lane on stage adapting Toto the Ninja Cat: "An Honour and an Enormous Responsibility"

Adapting Toto the Ninja Cat and The Great Snake Escape for the stage has been both an honour and an enormous responsibility. Not only is the story clearly very close to Dermot O'Leary’s heart (the cats are inspired by his own) but the books are deeply loved by thousands of young readers. When children arrive at the theatre already carrying a story in their imagination, you have to treat that trust very carefully. The challenge is finding a way to stay true to the essence of the book while also allowing the creative team to make something genuinely theatrical and new.

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Guest-Blog-It-Has-Been-An-Honour-And-An-Enormous-Responsibility-Samantha-Lane-on-Adapting-TOTO-THE-NINJA-CAT-AND-THE-GREAT-SNAKE-ESCAPE-For-The-Stage-20260513)._